Cat Smith MP: written questions
93 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Rare CancersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 23 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 122698More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the role of National Cancer Lead for Rare Cancers is full-time; what the contracted FTE and weekly hours are; and what interim leadership arrangements are in place until the role is filled.
Answer: The National Cancer Plan, published on the 4 February 2026, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next ten years. The role of the reformed National Cancer Board will be to support and monitor the delivery of the commitment...
Answered 30 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordEnvironment Protection: National SecurityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121357More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to help mitigate the national security risks identified in the nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national secu
Answer: Nature underpins the UK’s security, prosperity and resilience and understanding the threats we face from biodiversity loss is essential to addressing them effectively. The Nature security assessment forms part of cross-government resilience planning and c...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordEnvironment Protection: BiodiversityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121356More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 8 of the Government's document entitled Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, published on 20 January 2026, what steps she is takin
Answer: Nature underpins the UK’s security, prosperity and resilience and understanding the threats we face from biodiversity loss is essential to addressing them effectively. The Nature security assessment forms part of cross-government resilience planning and c...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordTelevision: North WestDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 17 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121355More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether decision-making process on the proposed switch off the UK's digital terrestrial television will take into account the impact on low-income households, particularly in the North West of En
Answer: I can confirm that my department is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to ensure that the impact on low-income households across the UK, including in the North West of England, is fully considered as part of any dec...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordInternet: SafetyDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 17 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121354More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she’s taking with Cabinet Colleagues to work with voluntary organisations, such as Girl guiding, to help ensure that girls’ voices are heard in the national consultation, Gro
Answer: On 2 March, the government launched a landmark consultation on how to give young people the childhood they deserve in an online world. Alongside the formal consultation, we published a child‑ and parent‑friendly version to ensure these important voices ar...
Answered 25 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPornography: ChildrenMinistry of JusticeTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118810More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the review of pornography law will include differences between online and offline regulation in relation to children’s access to sexually explicit material.
Answer: On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:‘The current criminal jus...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPornography: ChildrenMinistry of JusticeTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118809More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department's review of the criminal law relating to pornography will consider the adequacy of existing age-verification and age-assurance measures in preventing children from accessing online pornogra
Answer: On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:‘The current criminal jus...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPornographyMinistry of JusticeTabled 9 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118808More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish a review of the criminal law relating to pornography.
Answer: On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:‘The current criminal jus...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSports: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118213More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will commit to funding court-based sport facilities such as tennis and padel to support economies of scale and partner funding.
Answer: The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people t...
Answered 13 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSports: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118212More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will support the development of covered tennis, padel and multi-sport facilities to facilitate year-round, all-weather participation.
Answer: The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people t...
Answered 13 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSports: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118211More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for court-based sports facilities such as tennis and padel.
Answer: The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people t...
Answered 13 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordTennis: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118210More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for covered tennis and padel facilities in Lancaster and Wyre constituency.
Answer: The Government's 27 January announcement of £85 million of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2026/27 also set out that an additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people t...
Answered 13 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPark Homes: SalesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116824More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the 10% commission payable on the resale of a park home, what financial data he plans to require park home site owners to provide that was not already covered i
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 115901 on 9 March 2026.
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPalestine: Armed ConflictForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 23 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115106More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make representations to her Israeli counterparts on preventing further military attacks on Palestinian higher education institutions.
Answer: The UK has been clear with the Government of Israel on the imperative, under international humanitarian law, to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including education institutions. We remain focussed on supporting the transition from an immedi...
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordTropical Diseases: Disease ControlForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113745More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help support the (a) treatment and (b) elimination of neglected tropical diseases.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 February in response to Question 111786.
Answered 25 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSodium Valproate: CompensationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111716More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason recommendations for a sodium valproate redress scheme have not been implemented.
Answer: The Department continues to take forward work to explore redress for those affected by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate, which includes recommendations made by the Patient Safety Commissioner in the Hughes Report. We recognise the importance of these issu...
Answered 18 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSodium ValproateDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111715More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what dates his Department has met with patient groups representing families affected by sodium valproate since January 2024.
Answer: The current Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women's Health and Mental Health, Baroness Merron, the previous minister with responsibility for sodium valproate and pelvic mesh redress policy, held a roundtable with representatives of the sodium v...
Answered 18 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants: CompensationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111714More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a timetable for implementing redress recommendations from the Cumberlege Review and the Hughes Report.
Answer: The Department continues to take forward work to explore redress for those affected by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate, which includes recommendations made by the Patient Safety Commissioner in the Hughes Report. We recognise the importance of these issu...
Answered 18 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSodium Valproate: ChildrenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111713More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of children who have (a) been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy and (b) received a diagnosis of Foetal Valproate Spectrum.
Answer: The Department does not hold information regarding the number of children that have been harmed by sodium valproate use during pregnancy, or those who have received a diagnosis of foetal valproate spectrum.The National Disease Registration Service in NHS ...
Answered 18 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCommodities: HealthDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110822More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to publish updated guidance on managing conflicts of interest between civil servants and Ministers in relation to unhealthy commodity industries.
Answer: The Department already has established arrangements in place to manage conflicts of interest for both ministers and civil servants, including where these relate to engagement with representatives of unhealthy commodity industries.Ministerial conduct is go...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAlcoholic Drinks: LabellingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110821More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to introduce mandatory alcohol labelling requirements.
Answer: In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthening and expanding on existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutrit...
Answered 11 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMembers: CorrespondenceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108002More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will reply to the letter of 7 November 2025 on Christianity in the Holy Land from the hon. Member for East Wiltshire and the hon. Member for and Lancaster and Wyre.
Answer: We will announce further details in the near future of the 12 March conference to help establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine, including attendees, and I thank the Hon Member for her constructive proposals. On her letter of 7 Novem...
Answered 29 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordIsrael: PalestineForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 23 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108001More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Heads of Churches in the Holy Land on their (a) attendance at and (b) participation in the Israel-Palestine peace summit of 12 March
Answer: We will announce further details in the near future of the 12 March conference to help establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine, including attendees, and I thank the Hon Member for her constructive proposals. On her letter of 7 Novem...
Answered 29 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordIntimate Image Abuse: Artificial IntelligenceHome OfficeTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101757More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will visit Dr Sophie Nightingale at Lancaster University and her specialist lab investigating generative AI and its use to create sexual digital forgeries to discuss the contribution of that re
Answer: The Government recognises and shares concerns about the proliferation of AI-enabled products and services that facilitate the creation of sexual forgeries, including deepfake non-consensual intimate images (NCII).The Data (Use and Access) Act inserts new ...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordIntimate Image Abuse: Artificial IntelligenceHome OfficeTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101756More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of research by Dr Sophie Nightingale at Lancaster University into generative AI and its use to create sexual digital f
Answer: The Government recognises and shares concerns about the proliferation of AI-enabled products and services that facilitate the creation of sexual forgeries, including deepfake non-consensual intimate images (NCII).The Data (Use and Access) Act inserts new ...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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